Founded in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler, IG was the world’s first spread betting firm.

The company is regulated by several top-tier bodies such as the  Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, and Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Due to this level of status in the industry IG Index is considered safe. It is also listed on the London Stock Exchange and regularly declares its financials.

Key Features

The web trading platform is exceptionally well-designed and user-friendly. There are many customisable features to ensure the customer has a smooth experience.

Deposits and withdrawals are free, and completed in good time. Six base currencies are available—USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, SGD, HKD—which is the best you will find anywhere.

More than 17,000 instruments are tradable via spread bets and CFDs. Trading on US stocks is commission-free for customers who make more than three trades per month, and between £3 and £8 for UK stocks.

Mobile trading is available for those who are constantly on the move and like to keep one eye on their positions. Desktop traders have a choice between MetaTrader 4, for free, or ProRealtime, which carries a £30 fee if less than four transactions are made in the month.

There are plenty of research tools available. News and charting features are plenty, to give customers trading ideas. There isn't, however, any fundamental data on individual assets. 

Novice traders will be delighted to learn that there is a rich selection of educational resources available. A demo account will allow fledgling investors to get started, while general educational videos on finance will improve a traders comfort level. Videos on how to best use the platform are also available.

Webinars and live training sessions are also laid on by the company at no extra cost.

Our Verdict

There is no doubt that IG Index is a first-class financial broker. The web trading platform is of the highest quality, smoothing the path for those new to the world of finance. 

Two of the best key features are negative balance protection and guaranteed stop loss orders (GSLO), for a small fee, for all but US-based traders. Mindset is so important for successful trading, and knowing that the account will never end up in the red is a huge plus.

Budding stock traders will get Direct Market Access (DMA). This is a rare feature among brokers catering to the wider population, and usually an added expense. IG Index offer this for free.

The number of drawbacks to IG Index are few. Forex and stock CFD fees although competitive are slightly high. 

There are also restrictions based on the geographical location of the customer. Real stocks, ETFs, and options markets are all limited to certain countries, so be sure to check out the IG Index website for each individual situation..